Thread 40933112

Is software engineering still worth getting into if you're really talented at programming and maths at a young age?

>>40933112 (OP)
>really talented at programming and maths at a young age
do you enjoy coding in your free time? then maybe
but you also need to heavily specialize to find a decent job in the industry. Do some research into what companies nearby are actually looking for and dont fall for the webdev trap.

I sadly could only cut it for a sys admin position that is paid pretty badly but im hoping i can collect experience over time. On the other hand my job is a lot more comfy than working at a big corporate firm or tiny startup

Oh and i also quit uni halfway through but you should probably get a compsci degree. It wont necessarily help you get better and it wont be a guaranteed entry but a lot of companies toss resumes without good credentials and uni is a credential

I think at this point it's anyone's guess but the world will still need people who understand computers. It's kind of like law school has been historically. If you're in like the top 5% of programmers, you can do as well in SWE as you can in any field. Otherwise it's luck of the draw you might just hate your job and not make that much money.

>>40933151
i assume most people who got into IT jobs arent autistically obsessed with it but rather (like me) just were kinda good at it when they learned it in school.

It is also really hard to find a job nowadays. It seems a lot of job listings just get posted but never actually taken seriously. The market is also suuuuper competitive
but
> the world will still need people who understand computers
this is very much true. whew i could rant about this for hours

>>40933162
It comes in waves (I'm old). When I was younger it was for pasty autistic weirdos. Then the dotcom bubble happened and the jocks flooded in (this was when "nerd" stopped meaning nerd and "geek" just meant rich opinionated asshole with a lot of money for hobbies). Then the dotcom bubble burst and any newcomers were, once again, somewhat autistic. Then the second bubble happened and again, jocks and stacies.

We're now in another depression, I guess if you want to be optimistic you could look at it like this: the autists who got in during the down cycle laid down a foundation to be competitive when the socially gifted attractive people flooded back in later. Because during a bubble it's all about are you hot, and do you have connected friends. Of course it's a bit harder now because you have to compete with AI slop applicants but if you can insinuate your way in, this might be a good time to do it. Buy low sell high or some shit right?

>>40933112 (OP)
no. SWE is a bubble and most jobs are being outsourced overseas. if you're going to do computer stuff and can go to college, do computer engineering or electrical engineering. it's the same set of skills. if you can't/don't want to, do cybersec or smth.

>>40933112 (OP)
Absolutely. If you're good, it's a dream come true. If you're not, though, you will end up as a random code monkey with average salary.
All the people here yelling "no" have zero idea what they are talking about.

>>40933112 (OP)
Fuck no, AI is going to take all the programming and software jobs by the end of the decade. Pick a trade.

>>40934570
The regular SWE bubble popped over a year ago, what's left is an AI bubble and unless you have a PhD in a few specific fields as well as research experience in an AI-related topic you're SOL

>>40933187
>>40934570
>>40934678
>>40934689
I'm on the verge of going back to school/training and switching careers, and I know I have the aptitude to do well in a lot of these fields, but the waters are so god damn murky right now. I would honestly be fine with a 6/10 consistent career at this point, but so many people say it's a waste of time. Idk who to believe

>>40934758
Idk. I think it would be silly to go into anything tech related, when all of the top AI researchers and scientists are predicting AI Superintelligence by 2027-2028.... anyone who's job can be replaced by AI should be worried

>>40934769
someone still needs to setup servers but yeah anyone who isnt an industry veteran might be forced out

as long as you're happy to use AI tools and good at using them, you'll be fine for at least 6 years

>>40934794
claude code can, today, set up servers better than the vast majority of tech people. tell it to do any command-line-related thing and it will do the whole thing with little help